Sentimental

First, a bit of an apology (see what I did there)….I haven’t posted lately because we had family visiting with us. It kept me too busy and I am sorry.

Next, a big thank you to all of the doctors and scientists who tirelessly dedicate themselves to research and development of vaccines! You have made family gatherings possible again!

On to the actual posting…..

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Are you a sentimental person or not?

By that, I mean are you someone who looks back on things from your past with a certain amount of fondness? Are you someone who likes to keep mementos from happy times? Do you enjoy spending time looking over old photographs and thinking about the “good ‘ol days”?

Or, do you have better things to do?

Knowing I have presented two extreme ends, I guess people can be somewhere in the middle, too… you can be sentimental but also practical and ready to engage with the future.

Myself, I’m definitely a sentimental person. I come by it honest. My Big Granny filled her house with every kind of memento. Everything I ever made in Girl Scouts and gave her, she kept. She had old toys of mine pinned to her walls. Remember Monchhichi monkeys?  When I got tired of mine, they went front and center on her wall.

(((Side note: I just googled Monchhichi to make sure I was spelling their name correctly. My gosh! How did I ever get tired of them?!! Those little suckers were cute!)))

(((Another side note: I was NOT spelling it right and am still not sure I got it right. I keep trying to toss in extra letters.)))

(((Third side note: I went down a rabbit hole with the whole Monchhichi thing. Spent time looking up how much they are worth now and looked at pics of all the different kinds. Kinda wishin’ I still had mine. Uuummmmmmmm, proving that YES, I’m sentimental. Anytime I get a chance to look at old toys online, I’m lost to anything else for about an hour.)))

Anyway, Big Granny and the sentimental stuff…I have a theory that sentimentality (is that a word?) can be passed on. I’m sure there are genetic predispositions for that kind of thing. (Seems to me there can be genetic predispositions for just about anything.) But I’m talking about passing on a love for certain specific things. Like keeping toys. One of my favorite things to do to preserve memories is to keep childhood items, just like Big Granny. And once, she told me she liked Bleeding Hearts. Guess what I have two of on my porch!

So….

Way back at the beginning of this blog, I presented two ends of the extreme. Let’s talk about the other side.

I’m looking at you mom!

My mom declares herself to be unsentimental. (Which is kind of a fib. I happen to know the doll she keeps on display in her house was around long before I was born.) But still, mom is able to clear out a lot of stuff I might be tempted to keep. No one can clean a house like my mom. NO ONE. She taught me to start at the top of a room, at the overhead light, and work outwards from there. We’re talkin’ cleaning the ceilings, trim, walls, floor trim, dusting everything in sight, washing curtains, and vacuuming. And if you come across something you haven’t been using toss it out.

Comparing the two ends of the extremes, at first glance, it seems my mom’s way is kind of harsh. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown more and more appreciative of all she taught me. I don’t have to ever worry about my kids someday having to clear out a ginormous mess of stuff after I pass away. And while I have some things I am deeply sentimental over, I don’t keep every single thing. I feel like between her and Big Granny, I got just the right balance.

So, what my point in all of this sentimental/not sentimental rambling???

Wait! What was my point? I’ve forgotten.

Oh, here it is.  We pick up a lot of who we are from family? We may think some of it is good. We may think some of it is bad. As we get older, our ideas on those may change. All in all, it makes us who we are and we should look for the parts of us that come from other family members. One of the greatest joys I have in life is knowing my mom showed me the way. Or that Big Granny showed me to way. It gives you a deep down connected-ness feeling that is really cool.

So, ask yourself. Who made you?

~~Endnote~~

This post begs the question, what if you don’t like who made you? Or what if you don’t like things that have been passed on to you? First of all, therapy. Therapy is good. Think of it as talking something out.

But also, if you ask that question, you’re already on a path forward. And understanding yourself, no matter who you are, is a good thing.

Ok, that’s enough. Sometimes, by the end of these postings, I feel like I’ve wandered waaaaay into the weeds. Like, I start out wanting to talk about holding on to keepsakes and end up stumbling through how to bring about positive life changes. Brains and thought processes are weird!!

**Psssst, I think I might buy some new Monchhichis!**